Backyard Tourism: Seeing a Baseball Game at the Mets’ Citi Field

I’ve been in a bit of a travel dry-spell, so I’ve been spending my weekends exploring my own backyard. Living in the New York area gives me plenty of opportunities to check out cool spots and locales. Check out my first backyard tourism extravaganza toChelsea Market.

When Richard suggested we hit up a Mets game a couple of weekends ago, I was game (pun intended). While a little chilly, it was the perfect spring day to hit up a baseball game.

The Venue

Ain’t she a beaut’? Citi Field opened in 2009 and it shows. Everything in the stadium from the entrance to the bathrooms to the seats appeared new and clean. It wasn’t terribly busy the day we were there, so I can’t speak for the cleanliness on high-capacity days, but I have high hopes that it would still be pretty clean.

The Food

Being the eaters that we are, we couldn’t go to out seats without getting some grub first. Our perusal of the food options revealed that they were pretty standard baseball fare. If you walked around a little, you would find some interesting things like Italian sausage or fried dough (note: that didn’t sound interesting when I typed it, but at least it’s more interesting than hot dogs). For the drinkers, you can find standard beer selections, but there are also some craft beer and specialty cocktail options available.

The Seats

We were feeling frugal, so we went with tickets for the second cheapest seats in the stadium at $22. The least expensive run at $20, but we didn’t want to sit in the outfield. Although we were pretty high up, it didn’t feel that way. As you can see, we had a pretty excellent birds’ eye view of the field. Plus, it wasn’t too crowded since we were so far up!

I was pleasantly surprised that while steep, the level we were on (the highest level) wasn’t overwhelmingly steep. Sometimes when I’m in the nosebleed section at stadiums, I feel like I’m going to fall down when I’m walking down the flight of stairs (Hockey is the worst for this, I’ve found). Luckily, I didn’t feel this way. Win for the nosebleeds!

Getting to Citi Field

Citi Field is located in Queens in New York City. There is parking available for those who are driving to the game. For those using public transportation, Citi Field is accessible via the subway, LIRR, and water taxi.

There were a lot of people at the game (not nearly sold out though), yet it was still fairly easy to get home. There was some congestion getting onto the subway platform, but the Special Event subway made up for that. We zoomed right from Citi Field to Times Square on the express train.

The Verdict

Behold, the faces of two happy campers.

Stars

I am already a fan of attending baseball games, so it was going to be pretty difficult to rate this any less than a 4 as it is. I must say that I bumped it up to a 5 because the cheap seats provided an excellent view. The food and drink options were reasonable. And, finally, it was super easy to get to via subway.

Time Needed

Expect to spend about 4 – 6 hours at a Mets game at Citi Field. The 2 hour buffer accounts for standard travel times. If you’re coming from farther away, expect to spend more time there. When you factor in travel to the stadium, it will be more.

Cost

We spent under $100 for the two of us. Our costs included:

Tickets x 2: $22 plus service fee = $55.50

Italian Sausages x 2: $17.50

16oz. Beers x 2: $17.00

Total: ~$90

However, you could spend much much much more on a day out at the game. Getting more than 1 beer each? Add on another $20. Want sweet, non-nosebleed seats? Yeah, the seats go up to $455 each.

Public Transport Options

The 7 subway stop for Citi Field is Mets-Willets Point. On LIRR, you’ll want to take the Port Washington Branch to Mets-Willets Point. Finally, you can take the water taxi from Pier 11/Wall Street or from East 34th Street.

Policies (The Boring Stuff)

I'm no financial expert, so anything I write here is an opinion and should not be taken as financial advice. That said, I try to make sure that everything I post here is true and factual. I occasionally post affiliate links on my site. When you click on one, I may receive a small percentage for referring you. Don't worry, clicking doesn't cost you anything and you can rest assured that my opinions and writing are not swayed by that. All images and illustrations are created by me, Nicole Kendrot, unless otherwise noted.